Tri-DENT to replace SANE

Chippewa County’s association with the Straits Area Narcotics Enforcement team (SANE) will come to an end next month after nearly two decades to be replaced with Tri-DENT.

“They served us well,” said Chippewa County Sheriff Robert Savoie who put in more than two years with SANE in the 1980s. “The issue at hand is they are just spread out too thin.”

Crunching the numbers, the Sault Police Department and the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office developed their own task force to combat the sale and manufacture of illegal drugs in the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

“We just feel we can do more with the same money,” said Savoie.

The Chippewa County Board of Commissioners officially approved a number of items — the purchase of an undercover vehicle, Mitter System from Teamintel Intelligence Equipment, the transfer of funds earmarked for SANE to a new account and the formal withdrawal from SANE — clearing the way for Tri-DENT to begin operating in Chippewa County.

“It’s going to be like a three-county SANE unit,” explained Savoie, noting that with cross-deputization and formal agreements, the new task force will be able to pursue and investigate leads beyond the county line. “Drugs have no borders — the activity here, a lot of times, is connected to St. Ignace or connected to Newberry.”

The new task force will begin operating with members of the Sault Police Department, Chippewa County Sheriff’s Office, Sault Tribal Law Enforcement, U.S. Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“And several other agencies will provide as-needed manpower,” said Savoie, identifying the Bay Mills Police Department, Kinross Township Public Safety, Luce County Sheriff’s Office, Mackinac County Sheriff’s Office, Mackinac Island Police Department and the St. Ignace Police Department, along with Homeland Security personnel as partners.

“I give credit to the commissioners — both the city and the county,” said Savoie of their commitment to move funds into the new task force. “They’re not burying their heads in the sand — they are proactive in trying to do something about it before it takes over.”

Savoie further added that the drug trade fuels a lot of other crimes that have an impact on our community including petty thefts, larcenies, burglaries and home invasions. The series of poor life choices further leads, in many instances, to child abuse or at least neglect.

“The top priority in their life,” said Savoie, noting that, for many, friends and family are put on the back burner, “when they wake up in the morning with the focus to fulfill their addiction. Our children deserve more than that.”

Savoie pointed to the increasing number of drug overdoses that are treated at War Memorial Hospital, adding that the most recent statistics show the facility handles more than one a day. The problem is not limited to prescription drugs, either, as many users have turned to heroin as a cheaper, more readily-available alternative. Meth labs have also sprung up in the community, further endangering local residents.

“All members of this task force live here and work here,” said Savoie, “and they want to focus on the Eastern Upper Peninsula.”

Savoie said the new agency will continue to work hand-in-hand with SANE, anticipating that the two entities will co-exist for the mutual benefit of each other sharing tips and leads in a common goal.

“It’s not intended to go after the user,” said Savoie of the emphasis the new task force will have in the coming months and years. “We want to chase the dealers and the people who are profiting and the manufacturer — especially on the meth.”

Chippewa County will officially conclude their participation in SANE on June 8.